The laser ablation model development of glass substrate cutting assisted with the thermal fracture and ultrasonic mechanisms

This study presents three hybrid processing models for cutting a glass substrate, and compares their cutting speeds. The three models are (I) thermal fracture cutting technology (TFCT)-assisted laser ablation, (II) ultrasonic-assisted laser ablation, and (III) ultrasonic and TFCT-assisted laser ablation. In the experiment, a 12 W 355 nm Nd:YVO4 laser system, a 40 W CO2 laser and an ultrasonic transducer were used to cut 3 mm thick soda-lime glasses. Lasers and ultrasonic transducers were used as heat sources and vibration sources, respectively. Results show that the surface morphology of the soda-lime glass sheet depends on the processing models. After cutting, the surface and cross-sectional morphology of glass substrate were observed using a portable digital microscope and residual stresses were also evaluated thanks to a photoelasticity instrument. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.